In The Shadows
by Illeana Starbright
Summary: AU after Haunted. Robin's hallucination of Slade wasn't as fake as the Titans had hoped. As they are all still recovering from a night of saving Robin from himself a new threat emerges in Jump City, one with all the flare and style of the villain who almost destroyed them all.
1. Prologue

**Author's Note: **Before I begin, a big thank you goes to** snowcloud8 **who not only introduced me to the Teen Titans original series but also beta'd this for me and pointed out a part that wasn't quite clear! I own nothing and reviews are welcome! Flames will be used to burn cities to the ground.

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><p><em>Titans Tower, 1:45 AM<em>

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><p>The last traces of the dust were gone from his system. His teammate Cyborg had done a complete scan and declared his body free of any foreign contaminants that might cause him to hallucinate and self-harm again. The only relic left of Slade, a sinister looking mask, was gathering a more natural form of dust in a box locked away with the rest of Robin's obsession over catching the criminal. Jump City was safe from the maniac and Robin was safe enough to sleep. Still, he didn't feel safe.<p>

Something had slid past his defenses and almost killed him. Yes, it had been a product of his own obsession and some hallucinogenic chemicals, but it had sank past every one of his defenses, ripped through them as if they were nothing more than paper. It bothered him, made him feel more vulnerable than he had been since Slade had been taking over the city, more helpless than when he was trying to figure out how to stop a criminal who was always two steps ahead of him. He tossed and turned restlessly, eyes burning as if they had been rubbed in sand. The hallucination's words haunted him, circling round and round in his head. He wasn't going to sleep well tonight.

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><p><em>Jump City, 1:45 AM<em>

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><p>Her head ached, the kind of deep seated throb that promised not to leave any time soon. Her skin was covered in a thin layer of sweat and she shivered even though she was covered in a thick woolen blanket. Using her gift for this, despite the fact that the dust had made it simpler. The hallucination had already existed in the Boy Wonder's mind and she had only needed to guide it. Still, she was exhausted by her efforts and had been forced to release the entire operation once the dust had worn off.<p>

The whisper of wind coming in through the window had her moving, shifting to stand on legs that shook and weaving her way drunkenly across the floor to lean her weight on the wall next to the window. The sky was covered in clouds drifting in and out of focus under her bleary vision. A few stars twinkled in the gaps between fluffy gray clouds and another breath of cool air. She shivered and tried to force the window shut with one trembling hand. It squeaked and groaned, the loud noise making her cringe as if increased the pounding in her head. She slumped against the wall again with a soft moan, heavy eyelids sliding shut. She wanted to rest but she didn't think she could manage it.

The material of a leather glove settled on the back of her neck, her thin brown hair easily swept aside. She didn't protest as she was guided away from the window and back to the chair she had started out in. She sank down among the cushions gratefully, cringing again when the window squealed slowly shut. "Is it finished?" The cool voice was the same as the one that had haunted the leader of the Titans and almost destroyed him completely just an hour before. She was growing used to that voice sneaking up on her.

"Yes," she croaked out, her throat feeling as if it had been rubbed raw with sandpaper.

"Good. And he suspects nothing?"

"I couldn't linger long enough to discover if he suspected anything but I suspect not," she told him, body curling up further to conserve what heat she could. She was still sweating, despite the chills the wracked her body, and her head pounded along with her heartbeat. She could sense his gaze locked on her, despite her unwillingness to open her eyes.

"Very well," he said at last. "I expect to see you at sunrise." She nodded, burrowing deeper into the old chair of her current home and yawning widely. Sleep had already taken over her before the quick click of the door closing reached her ears.


	2. Chapter One

_Titans Tower, 7:55 AM_

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><p>After all the excitement the night before, Raven was the only one awake in the tower. The others were finally resting off their fear for Robin, brought about by the knowledge that Slade had been real to their friend; real enough to kill him. Everything had turned out as well as it could have, the hallucinogenic dust having worked its way out of their leader's system, and the half demon had slept as well as she ever did with the threat of her birthday in the coming year hanging over her. Now she made her way into the main room, peering out of one of the large windows that overlooked the bay and the gleaming surface of Jump City. Something about the previous night's encounter with the hallucinated Slade was bothering her.<p>

During the time that she and her teammates had been locked away in quarantine while Robin battled for his life against his nemesis, she had reached into his mind and he had allowed her to see through his eyes. She had seen Slade, felt the blow he had struck Robin with, and been thrown out in shock. But not before she had felt the whisper of another presence in Robin's mind. At the time she had suspected that it was just Robin's hallucination of Slade taking up residence in their leader's mind but further examination of Robin's injuries had awoken a new worry.

Some of the bruises were too deep set to be self-inflicted. Robin simply wasn't strong enough to bruise and almost break several of his ribs. Furthermore, there were scratches and gashes on his arms but no blood under Robin's fingernails. Had someone invaded Robin's mind and given substance to the hallucination? There had been evidence of the dust left in Robin's blood when Cyborg had run a scan and it hadn't been difficult to discover what it had been used for, though the fact that it needed to be activated was troubling in and of itself, but any injuries should have simply been caused by Robin himself. Instead it appeared the Raven that something else had caused injury to the Boy Wonder.

There were a variety of villains that the Teen Titans faced every day but none of them had any kind of mind control ability. When Slade had still been alive and thwarting their every attempt to stop his master plan in its tracks, he had been able to manipulate Robin easily but that wasn't the same as actually invading his mind. There had been another person inside Robin's mind and Raven hadn't investigated it further, still shocked by the fact that Slade, real or not, had actually been injuring Robin. Now she pondered whether or not she could find this person again. Someone who could use another's mind, their fears and obsessions, against them would be a dangerous adversary.

Crossing her legs and folding her hands as if in prayer, she floated above the ground and closed her eyes. "Azarath Metrion Zynthos," she murmured softly as she allowed her power to flow out across to Jump City. Everything seemed normal. People were going about on their everyday journeys, heading to and from work or school. None of them seemed to have any sort of secret power or hidden agenda. Raven repeated her mantra and made her way further into the city, ignoring the feeling of being stretched too thin. She would find out if there was another threat against the Titans before it struck.

"Hey Rave, what's up?" Beast Boy's bright voice pulled her astral self, already stretched far to thin, back to her body. She growled and opened her eyes to see the green shapeshifter staring at her with a little bit of trepidation.

"What?" she demanded sharply and he glanced past her shoulder as if searching for help.

"You've been sitting like that since we got up at ten," Cyborg spoke up and Raven sighed, placing her feet on the floor and turning to glance at the clock. Her eyes widened slightly before she locked the surprise away. It was just after noon. Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she hadn't eaten since some time last night.

"Is there anything left to eat?" she questioned dryly as she glanced between Beast Boy and Cyborg, knowing that the two were perfectly capable of eating everything in the refrigerator without getting sick.

"There are some of the waffles left," Starfire chirped brightly. The Tamaranian girl's green eyes sparkled as she grinned brightly at the other girl, sharing in the humor. Raven showed the alien girl a slim, secretive smile in return before searching for the mentioned waffles. Robin was the only Titan nowhere to be seen but Raven had sensed him tossing and turning before she had drifted off to sleep, hoping her own nightmares wouldn't surface. A quick reach of her power after she slipped two of the remaining four waffles into the toaster confirmed her suspicions. The Boy Wonder was sleeping peacefully for the first time in several days. The waffles popped up and she went in search for syrup, confidant that the world would remain in one piece until she finished her breakfast.

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><p><em>Jump City, 8:03 AM<em>

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><p>The breakfast rush was just slowing down for the day when she emerged from her home. The abandoned apartment complex she was currently camped out in wasn't far from the main drag that cut its way through Jump City but hadn't been part of the recent plans to revitalize the town's crumbling outer districts. That meant she would be able to remain there for a while. It would also allow her to keep what little independence she had managed to cling to.<p>

Six years ago a seven year old Leigh-Anne Walter had been kidnapped from her bedroom. The senator's daughter had received the most coverage from national news stations but she wasn't the only one who had been taken. Leigh-Anne's body, along with those of twelve other girls, had been found almost a year after they had been taken but the thirteenth girl had never been found. Maeve Holland had been written off as dead, possibly killed in a botched kidnapping attempt, and though her body had never been found the FBI had closed the case.

In reality, Maeve was the only one who had survived. The brunette had been kidnapped at the age of seven with other girls who had shown a certain aptitude for a certain type of power. Maeve had been the only one whose gift had been what they were looking for. Because of that dubious gift she had been awarded a nightmarish childhood until she had grown strong enough to escape from them. She had left them behind screaming and sobbing without a hint of remorse. They had ruined her childhood and they deserved what she had inflicted upon them.

She had spent years dreaming of her escape and it had formed an idealized picture of the outside world. In reality she had been a twelve year old girl with no money, no family, and nowhere to go. It had been only six months before she'd found herself tangled up in a web of lies and deceit just to survive. She'd been taken in by a villain on a mission and she found herself doing thing she ordinarily wouldn't have so she could survive. Slade had given her what she needed to survive, was training her to use and strengthen the powers that had ruined her life, and had given her a small sense of control over her own fate. In response to that she gifted him with her own loyalty and obedience. She would do her best to see his plan succeed. Maybe that could be seen as a suitable repayment for everything he had done for her.


	3. Chapter Two

_Titans Tower, 12:40 PM_

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><p>Robin emerged from his room after Raven had finished her waffles, looking much better than he had the night before. What healing Raven had managed to do before she'd stumbled off the bed like the other Titans had brought the color back to his pale skin and resulted in the bruises appearing as if they were several days old. "Oh Robin," Starfire chirped brightly, her relief at him being out and about obvious on her face. "You are looking much better today."<p>

"Thanks Star," Robin told her, blushing slightly. Cyborg and Beast Boy began arguing about some aspect of their video game, breaking the moment, and Raven set aside her book, standing smoothly and crossing the room to study their leader. Her power revealed that Robin's ribs had yet to completely heal, something she would remedy as soon as he had food in him. Her healing abilities were not as strong as they should have been and used up natural energy already inside the body she was attempting to heal. If the person didn't have enough natural energy to sustain their healing then she could burn them up.

"Get some breakfast," she told him dryly. "Then I'll finish with your ribs."

"Thanks Raven," he told her, heading for the kitchen. "Is there any food left?" The Boy Wonder glanced over his shoulder at Beast Boy and Cyborg, both of whom had perked up at the mention of food.

"Why does everybody always look at us when they ask if there's any food?" Beast Boy whined.

"Maybe if you weren't both bottomless pits we wouldn't," Raven replied smoothly and Beast Boy sank down on the couch cushions, pouting.

"The both of you do enjoy the food," Starfire chimed in innocently. Then she turned and grinned at Robin. "If Raven has not finished them, then there are some of the waffles remaining." Robin nodded at her and headed for the fridge, his movements still a little stiff from the events of the day before. In fighting for his life against a hallucination that might have been more real than Raven would have liked to admit, Robin had strained his muscles past where they would normally be comfortable moving. Raven settled back in her seat, finding her place in her book and settling in to read until Robin had finished his mid-afternoon breakfast.

The book had lost all enjoyment at the sight of her leader still slightly battered from his experiences. The possibility that someone had purposefully done this to Robin haunted her as much as the truth about her own destiny. What made it worse was the fact that she'd been unable to locate whoever had done this to her friend. The failure stung her in a way nothing else every had, made anger coil deep in chest, and she had to fight down the emotions to keep her power under control. "Are you okay Raven?" She closed her book with a snap, setting it aside and standing so she was face to face with Robin.

"I'm fine," she told him dryly, reaching out a hand to press it lightly against his ribcage. It was the work of a moment to finish healing the formerly cracked and bruised ribs. "There, you're fixed."

"Thanks Rave," he told her and she smiled slightly at him. It was taking all her effort not to tell Robin what she had discovered about his hallucination from the previous day but she knew it could only lead to trouble. She would keep the knowledge to herself for now.

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><p><em>Jump City, 12:52 PM<em>

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><p>Maeve hated the city. There were too many people, too much noise, and it brought back bad past memories. Memories of screaming children and bossy senator's daughters who had only caused them all more pain. She frowned and hunched further into the over sized red sweatshirt she shoved on every time she had to come out in public. It was difficult to walk down a crowded sidewalk without touching anyone else but she was managing, for the most part, to avoid all but slight brushes up against the baggy fabric of her sweatshirt.<p>

She had spent the morning going over the details of the plan again and again with Slade. Everything had to work perfectly to set the plan into motion. If one step was flawed then she could be locked away before the plan could effectively work without her and Slade was not a man to tolerate failure. She sped up her pace, glancing at the cheap plastic watch around her wrist. It was the type that one would expect to see come out of a child's cereal box and, to make matters worse, it was pink. Still it worked and she didn't exactly have money to spare.

The Amtrak station rose up out of the street in front of her like a giant metal and glass monster. It loomed over the people that entered its gaping maw, swallowing them whole. She sighed and then made her way inside the building, hands shoved in the big front pocket of her sweatshirt. It was time to get to work.

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><p><em>Titans Tower, 12:59 PM<em>

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><p>Robin was beginning to feel as if everything were under control again. He had eventually managed to drift off to sleep and hadn't dreamed about Slade. Then he'd woken refreshed and his mood had only been improved when Raven had finished healing him. He was just settling down to play a few video game matches with Cyborg and Beast Boy, something he hadn't really done since his obsession with finding and stopping Slade, when their alarm system went off. He found himself scrambling over the back of the sofa before he'd even thought to move, wincing as the back pressed into a couple bruises before he was moving again. Raven was already bringing up their map of Jump City on the large computer screen, trying to discover where the distress signal was coming from.<p>

"It's coming from the Amtrak station," Cyborg said, leaning over Raven's shoulder until the cloaked girl scowled at him. "But there's no identification on which villain is being stupid enough to try something this time."

"The best way to find out what we're dealing with is to go check it out," Robin said. Beast Boy and Cyborg both grinned at that, eager for a normal take down. After the hallucination of Slade, Robin had to admit that he was ready for what qualified as normal in his life. "Let's go!"


	4. Chapter Three

_Jump City Amtrak Station, 1:02 PM_

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><p>It had been all too easy to turn the bustling Jump City Amtrak System into a panicked mess. Sealing the doors had been simply with the tech Slade had given her and the charges were set. The goal wasn't to destroy the station, rather it was to draw that Titans out of their tower and start a game that would end in their destruction. Maeve settled in the station control room, the couple men who had been inside tossed limply on the floor. Neither one was dead, for the moment. Chloroform was beautiful substance, especially for her purposes. Slade had insisted that it was vital to avoid killing this early in the game. She didn't understand why but she knew better than to question the almighty plan. She had learned that lesson months ago.<p>

The Titans entered the station the only way they were able, through the sturdy glass dome that main up the ceiling of the main terminal. Shattered glass rained down on terrified citizens below, the ones who knew there was a bomb ticking away somewhere inside the station. She leaned forward, studying the cameras as the team of teenage superheros assessed the situation. The only obvious sign of danger, besides the broken shards of glass coating the thick tile flooring, was the screens counting down from five minutes. Five minutes to stop a bomb from detonating and killing the innocents gathered here to travel to their jobs or to visit their families. Slade had considered it a fair assessment of the Titans.

Shaking free of her thoughts she stood and activated the station's communication system, adopting a professional announcer's voice. "Good morning ladies and gentlemen of Jump City," she purred, grinning when her voice bounced off the walls of the station and escaped through the gaping hole in the ceiling. "I am sorry to inform you that your regularly scheduled trips have been cancelled for the moment. In fact, if the Titans cannot uncover and defuse the bomb planted within the station then no one will ever be leaving again." She hesitated a moment a then allowed the last piece of her carefully memorized speech to slip free from her mouth. "Have a nice day."

There was a moment of complete silence after her announcement as the citizens of Jump City gaped up at the ceiling and the Titans exchanged loaded glances with one another. Then the screaming started. A loud wail rose up from a pretty blonde woman in a business suit. The woman didn't look unlike Maeve's memories of her own mother and for a moment she wondered if what she was doing was truly right. Then others began screaming, washing all other thoughts out of her mind. She slammed her hands hard over her ears, blocking them out as best she could and breathing in deeply. It took a moment but slowly she shoved the flashbacks away. Now was not the time to fall apart.

There was an escape route for her built into the plan. The control room had a back exit into a storage closet. From there she could squeeze her slim frame into the ventilation shaft and exit from there in around a minute. Maybe the Titans would figure out how she simply vanished into thin air and maybe they wouldn't. At this stage of the game it didn't matter yet. All that mattered was the level of competency they displayed while Slade kept watch.

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><p><em>Jump City Amtrak Station, 1:04 PM<em>

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><p>The station was a nightmare situation. Robin felt as if he had been transported back to Gotham City. All that was missing was Joker's maniac laugh and the tired faces of people who had long ago become used to psychopaths haunting their city streets. The voice over the loudspeaker had been smooth and practiced, the only hesitation right before she had bid them all a nice day. Similarly the entire set up felt far too smooth to be anything but practiced. Whoever had done this, not someone they'd faced before, was good. Too good. He didn't like it.<p>

"I have located the device," Starfire called from where she stood in the tracks. She was leaning down to peer underneath the train, her pretty face pulled into a frown. Robin made his way across the station at a jog, glass crunching underfoot. Time was slowly running out but locating the bomb was half the battle won.

The device had been attached to the bottom of the first train scheduled to leave the station, not that it could with the exits locked down. "Cyborg," Robin called, frowning at the small piece of machinery. "Can you shut this down?"

"I'm on it," Cyborg said, slipping past him to check out the device.

"Starfire, stay with him," Robin ordered, mind racing ahead. If they could catch this new villain before she could cause any damage then they could rest easy knowing another crisis was adverted and another enemy locked away whether they could no longer harm anyone. "Raven, Beast Boy, come with me. We're going to find our new enemy."

The control room, once Raven blew the door in with her powers, was empty. Cameras showed every angle of the station, a regular security feature considering how many Amtrak stations a year were attacked by criminals. The three Titans spread out and searched the room, look for any sign of the perpetrator. "Dude," Beast Boy whined after a few minutes of looking. "How did she get out of here?"

"Maybe through the ventilation system," Robin suggested, studying the grate. It looked as if it had been pulled back into place but not screwed in. Instead something was sticking it to the wall. He pulled it away carefully, frowning as the heady smell of bubblegum filled his nostrils.

"She can't be very big if she fit in there," Raven commented, floating up to study the small rectangular hole.

"The bomb has been destroyed friends," Starfire called, floating through the doorway. "Cyborg is now working on opening the doors."

"Nice work," Robin told her with a grin. "Come on team. Let's go help Cyborg get this station operational again." Their mystery villain would just have to wait.

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><p><em>Jump City, 1:25 PM<em>

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><p>"Is it done?"<p>

"It is." Maeve was unsurprised to find Slade waiting for her inside her temporary home. The man had eyes everywhere. Whether it was through his underworld contacts, his robots, or the numerous video cameras that blanketed the city, she had known it would only be a matter of time before he showed up here. He was facing the one window in the room. The grimy glass overlooked the mostly empty street below and, in the distance, one could see the sparkling city center. All that glass gleamed in the sunlight like thousands of precious jewels just waiting to be stolen.

"Good." Slade's voice was the same measured tone he always used. "The countdown begins tonight at midnight. I've left the file with your next assignment in the next room." Maeve nodded in acknowledgement, not moving from the doorway. A sharp hand motion sent her warily crossing into the next room, picking up the folder sitting on the mattress. Curiously she opened it and frowned at the details laid out before her.

"How do you expect me to-" She began to ask, turning toward the doorway, only to freeze when she realized Slade was gone. She turned slowly back to the folder. She would need to memorize its contents so that she could put them into action as soon as they were required. This plan was on a tight schedule and one misstep on her part could lead to catastrophic failure. Failure that would not be tolerated.


	5. Chapter Four

Midnight arrived innocently enough in Jump City. After the averted disaster at the Amtrak station the day had been abnormally quiet. Not even the HIVE had emerged to cause their normal amount of chaos. The Titans had spent their free time trying to figure out who the mysterious new criminal was. Maeve spent the evening studying the file she'd been given, trying to memorize even the minor details. Meanwhile, somewhere underneath the peaceful homes, a clock ticked down towards destruction.

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><p><em>168 Hours Remaining<em>

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><p>Prison breaks were anything but unusual in cities like Jump. Any city that housed at least one superhero had to deal with several villains. Some were always below average intelligence and all were at least a little crazy but most were proficient in breaking out of just about any prison you could shove them into. Jump City was nothing like Gotham, where criminals tore their way out of Arkham Asylum on a regular basis, but it wasn't unusual for the Titans to get a call in the middle of the night at least once a month about an escape.<p>

Robin jolted awake the instant the alarm blared, scrambling out of his bed and almost darting into the hall before he realized he didn't even have his mask on. He stumbled back, feet almost tripping over one another in their exhaustion. Between the nightmare hallucinations of Slade and his work on the train station with the bomb threat he was behind on sleep and exhausted. It took a minute for fumbling fingers to pull on his mask and allow him to dress, the alarm blaring the whole time, but when he scrambled out of his room he appeared to be wide awake. Cyborg was already leaning over the central control panel, Raven beside him, while the others stumbled in behind Robin. Starfire at least managed to appear mostly alert but Beast Boy looked like he was sleep walking. Raven's current state was difficult to guess, seeing that the hood hide her emotions even from her teammates.

"We have a break out," Cyborg informed them. "Cinderblock busted his way out but the reports I'm using suggest there was some kind of explosion involved."

Robin got a sinking feeling in his stomach at Cinderblock's name. Last time anyone had mentioned Cinderblock and prison it had involved the criminal breaking in to free Plasmus. That had been the beginning to Slade's master plan at the time and though the man was dead his ghost seemed to haunt the Boy Wonder everywhere he went. "Are there any other compromised cells?" Robin asked as they scrambled to the T-Car, hoping the answer was no. He desperately needed some sleep and Cinderblock alone would make the night long.

"None reported," Cyborg replied, all but flying into the driver's seat. Doors slammed and Cyborg took off for the Jump City prison, Starfire and Raven following after the boys in their own unique ways.

By the time they arrived everyone in the vicinity of the jail could hear the commotion. The police were struggling with Cinderblock, only managing to slow him down a bit. The front doors of the jail were gaping open, though the gate to the wall surrounding the jail was opened for them by a very bored guard. He was just about the longest standing guard in the place and he'd seen pretty much everything by this point. "Titans, go!" Robin yelled as soon as he was out of the T-Car and the last of the police scattered as the five teenage superheros shot into action.

Starfire pelted Cinderblock with starbolts, the behemoth letting out a low rumble as he turned to face the Titans. Raven was following behind the Tamaranian, lifting up a few chunks of broken concrete wall to toss at him. Cinderblock batted aside the largest but allowed the smaller ones to simply bounce off his armor. Beast Boy had already transformed, thundering at the villain in the form of a green rhinoceros, Cyborg and Robin hot on his heels. The scuffle was fast and brutal, all the Titans focused on the enemy directly in front of them. None of them noticed the slim, brunette girl who made her way through the shadows and over the wall, leaving a single unconscious guard in her wake.

Maeve was dressed in black, blending in with the shadows as she made her way along the back alleys towards her home. Breaking Cinderblock out of jail had been child's play after all the other tests Slade had put her through but she wasn't sure she should have been proud of that. Especially not now that she knew one of the Titans had considerable mental powers. Maeve's own mental shields were strong, they'd needed to be to keep her out of the nightmares of the other kidnapped girls, but she wasn't sure she could hold this girl, Raven, at bay for long.

During the time she spent strengthening Robin's hallucination of Slade she had felt someone else briefly inhabiting the Boy Wonder's mind. That scared her. She had learned, long before Slade had taken her in, from an old woman whose sight was gone but whose powers were stronger than ever. The woman had told her that each person had a distinctive mental pattern. If another person with powers like Maeve touched against her mind they could recognize that signature again and that could lead to her capture. She didn't even want to think about what would happen to the plan if she was captured.

Her part at the moment was small but necessary. After all, someone had to slowly lead the team towards Slade if everything was going to work correctly. Speaking of which, her hand slipped into a nearly invisible pocket, pulling out a curving piece of metal. She turned back toward the wall, drew her arm back and threw it as hard as she could. It soared in a graceful arc over the wall, just barely clearing the top, and landed on the inside. The first clue had been dropped, time to move on.

Right before she'd come to Jump, Slade had insisted she memorize a map of the city. She knew every twist and turn, at least on the surface, by heart and although she wasn't entirely sure where her mentor was currently lurking she had several guesses. It was almost time for her to abandon her own home. That thought made her wince slightly. It had been a long time since Maeve had lived in an actual place she could call home. She had vague memories of warm pink sheets and a homemade quilt that covered the bed, a gift from her grandma, but not much else. The idea of a home had become a distant fairytale, like a childhood dream of being a princess.

She climbed the stairs to her apartment, unsurprised to find the door wide open and a file lying on the central table. She pulled the door shut, not bothering to look for Slade, and flipped open the file. The last one he'd left had contained details about the prison and how to release Cinderblock, along with details of each of the individual Titan's powers. She studied them intently and rested some before freeing the villain. The explosion hadn't exactly been subtle, nor had it actually been the Slade recommended course of action, but the goal had been to attract attention and in that aspect it had certainly worked. So maybe it had linked the Amtrak station event and Cinderblock's escape together but they had never seen her. The Titans had no way of knowing who she was and no way to track her down. The explosives came from Slade and therefore would trace back to him, not her.

The file Slade had left her had a time printed carefully on it in red marker. She recognized the handwriting as that of Wintergreen, Slade's butler and sometimes friend, and that puzzled her. Last she had heard, the man had refused to have anything to do with this particular plan, claiming it was far too reckless to benefit anyone. Somehow or other it seemed that Slade had swayed him. Ten hours from now the next part of the plan would be set into motion, just enough time for the Titans to get some rest and arguing over the meaning of the little clue she'd left behind for them. Just enough time for Cinderblock to be locked away again.

She flipped through the loose pages, pausing and frowning at one particular sentenced. Either Slade or Wintergreen had highlighted it in an almost perfectly straight line, she wasn't sure which one's OCD was worse at times, and it puzzled her. She was going to have back-up on this? A distraction? Who? Slade had contacts in all sorts of dark places but it was unlikely he wanted any of them to know about her. Maeve and her gifts were closely guarded secrets and Slade wasn't one to hand the information out like candy on Halloween. Content that she had all the information she would need, Maeve entered the next room and settled in for a few hours of sleep.

Across town, the Titans were having a mostly sleepless night. Cinderblock had been simple to take down, the team had done it many times before, but what they'd found on the scene had pushed away any thoughts of sleep. It was Beast Boy who had discovered the mocking piece of metal. The changeling had been sniffing around as a green bloodhound, searching for clues about who could have set the explosives that had helped free their once again contained enemy, when he'd stumbled into the evidence. Now Slade's symbol mocked them from its position on the kitchen island, the S gleaming in the florescent lighting. Maybe Slade really was dead but he seemed determined to haunt their every step.


	6. Chapter Five

Raven wasn't sleeping well but she had expected that. The discovery of the metal S, the symbol Slade had forced their leader to wear when Robin had been the man's apprentice, had shaken every one of them. Emotions all throughout the tower were in chaos and that all echoed back to her. Cyborg was frustrated and anxious. The cyberteen was worried about the implications of the metal S and frustrated by the knowledge that Robin could once again fall into his obsession with Slade. Beast Boy was confused and a little upset by the whole ordeal but overall he was the calmest of the group. She paused a moment in her sleepy astral travels, basking in his calmer emotions. Often she shied away from any empathic connection with Beast Boy. He felt everything so strongly, swinging between extremes without pause. More often than not it gave her headaches.

Starfire was concerned and a little frightened. Her thoughts were turned toward Robin. She was afraid that Slade would take him away from them, just like the villain had before. She was afraid, not for herself, but for what the villain could do to their leader. Robin was terrified. The metal S had brought back all his memories of his time as Slade's apprentice and they haunted him. He was trying to calm himself, probably for her sake because Robin hated distressing any of them, but was failing horribly. He was stuck awake, just as she was.

Raven slipped out of bed with a tired groan and pulled her cloak on before walking on bare feet down the hall to their leader's room. She didn't bother to knock, knowing it would only send her friend into a blind panic. Instead she stepped inside the room, startling the Boy Wonder enough just by her gentle entrance. He all but shot up off the bed, eyes wide behind his mask. "Hey," she said, not commenting on his jumpy behavior.

"Hey," he parroted, his voice raspy from suppressed screams. Raven crossed the room to sit on the edge of the bed while Robin huddled in the middle. The two had always been close, Robin understanding the necessity for times of silence and solitude, and now their friendship was paying off. Robin did not seem to find it necessary to hide his vulnerability from her. "I can't sleep," he told her after a moment, his head bowed. "Every time I close my eyes he shows up." Raven hesitated a moment and then reached a hand out to place gently on her leader's shoulder.

"He's gone," she told him. "And even if Slade were still alive, you could beat him. You've already done it once."

"Thanks Rave," he told her, emotions calming somewhat. She smiled at him, an expression not often worn on her face, and he smiled back. "I'm sorry about the emotions," he apologized. "They're probably a little overwhelming."

"It isn't your fault," Raven informed him. While she had been speaking to Robin, everyone else had calmed down and slowly drifted off to sleep, leaving she and Robin the last ones awake. "Get some rest. I'm going to," she continued. The Boy Wonder nodded, already sinking down in the pillows. Raven smiled and pulled the blankets up over his shoulders before transporting to her own bedroom. She'd need sleep to handle whatever tomorrow would bring.

Beast Boy and Cyborg's playful arguing in the kitchen the next morning roused the rest of the Titans earlier than they would have liked. Raven, Starfire, and Robin stumbled out of their rooms, fully dressed but none too awake. "I'm telling you man," Cyborg complained. "Nobody here wants your nasty tofu. We want real eggs and bacon."

"But tofu is good," Beast Boy whined back.

"We're not eating it," was Cyborg's replied as the cyberteen headed for the fridge.

"Aw man," Beast Boy complained but he settled on a stool next to Raven without any further protest. It didn't take long for the smells of eggs and bacon, and some of Beast Boy's tofu eggs and bacon, to fill the tower as the Titans slowly filtered into full wakefulness.

"It is a beautiful day," Starfire proclaimed, grinning down at the city below. Sunlight was streaming in through the window as Cyborg served the food. "Let us go outside to enjoy it."

"Sounds good Star," Robin agreed, shaking off his exhaustion. "What do you think guys? Can we manage a day off."

"Oh yeah," Cyborg said with an excited grin. "BB and I'll bring the football, and a spare one in case Beastie here pops it like he did the last one."

"Hey!" Beast Boy whined loudly and then looked down quickly when Raven glared at him over her steaming mug of lemon tea. Robin laughed tiredly at his friends' antics just as the alarm went off. Instantly all plans for a relaxing afternoon of hanging out went out the window.

"It's the Hive," Raven said, first to arrive at the computer. "They're attacking a local shopping center."

"Let's go," Robin called, already running for the elevator. Maybe if they could take down the Hive 5 relatively quickly then they would be able to relax some in the afternoon.

* * *

><p><em>158 Hours Remaining<em>

* * *

><p>The humidity in Jump City sent sweat trickling down Maeve's back under the spandex of her costume. The weight of the armor attached over the spandex didn't help matters. The brunette huffed, brushing away a brown curl, her hair growing unruly because of the humidity. Behind the mask, her blue eyes studied the building before her with fierce concentration. California was known for its earthquakes and Jump City had an entire high tech lap to help predict the natural disasters as well as to develop new technology to help minimize damage. Lately they had been working on a new piece of equipment, one that Slade was very interested in.<p>

Earthquakes had the potential to be very destructive. They could destroy buildings, decimate entire streets, and rip apart towns. The scientists at Jump City had been looking for a way to contain all the force of an earthquake in order to unleash it in a place where it would be less harmful to humans. They hadn't succeeded, and were unlikely to, but they had gained something for their efforts. The machine they had made was capable of containing released energy, say a small explosion. This was what Slade wanted.

The filed folder had been very detailed, down to the names of the employees that would be in the building at that time. Now the young girl watched as Professor Maggie Berkley approached the building. The woman was very tall and very beautiful, her red hair pouring over her shoulders in a silky waterfall and her piercing green eyes fixed on the glass doors. Her heels clicked on the sidewalk and she was completely oblivious to Maeve's approach. "Excuse me ma'am," the brunette said and Maggie Berkley turned, eyes widening when she took in Maeve's get-up. "I believe we need to have a talk." She could only hope that Slade's distraction really had panned out and she wasn't about to be taken out by the Teen Titans.


	7. Chapter Six

Professor Maggie Berkley had come to Jump City on a whim. She'd graduated from the University of Colorado, fulfilling her lifelong dream of becoming a geologist, and when the offer to go to California arrived she'd jumped at the chance. No more long, snowy winters and a high tech lab known across the country to be a hot spot for the study of fault lines had sounded like a dream come true. Now she was beginning to regret that decision.

A young woman, girl really, held her wrist in a tight grip. Her small frame was almost what Maggie would call malnourished but her hold was stronger than would be expected. Her brown curls hung loose and neat to her shoulders, pinned back with two metallic orange hair clips that only emphasized her young age. Her eyes were inscrutable behind the slim mask that covered them and her round face made her appear even younger. Grey armor covered a black catsuit and smooth grey gloves covered her hands. The analytical part of Maggie's mind, the one that watched too many late night crime dramas, pointed out that the gloves were a good way to avoid leaving behind fingerprints. The heavy black boots maybe gave her another inch in height but she should have been anything but intimidating. Still, her height didn't matter. What mattered was the knowing way she watched Maggie, as if she held all the cards.

"I don't really want to hurt you, Professor Berkley," the girl said, her voice smooth and unworried. "Give me your ID and go home. Forget you every saw me. If you do this, no one will get hurt." Maggie nodded nervously and fumbled with the clip that attached her ID to her neat white blouse, unhooking it and handing it to the girl. The child took it and locked eyes with the red headed professor. The two stared at one another for a moment. Then Maggie wobbled slightly, her vision blurring. Suddenly she was staring at her blonde haired intern, Emily, who had just joined them a week ago. She couldn't remember the entire walk to the office.

"Are you feeling well Professor?" Emily questioned and Maggie's head throbbed. For a moment she saw a girl she almost recognized in strange armor standing in Emily's place. Then another wave of pain assaulted her and when it cleared she only saw the intern. "Maybe you should go home and get some rest."

"Yes," Maggie mumbled, pressing a hand to her head. "I think I will."

"I'll inform the office," Emily told her. "Feel better soon Professor." Maggie mumbled a thank you in response and stumbled away, deciding to call a cab as soon as possible. Behind her, Maeve groaned and released control of Maggie Berkley's mind. Her body was coated in sweat underneath her uniform. Her head throbbed along with her heartbeat and she wobbled on her feet, the heavy duty black boots suddenly feeling as if they weighed a thousand pounds. Still, she had Maggie Berkley's ID and with it she could obtain the technology Slade wanted, so long as she could convince her feet to move. Suppressing a person's memories and making them see someone else in her place was exhausting. It was almost as bad as the night she'd spent making Robin's nightmare of Slade real, or as real as it could possibly be, and she wanted nothing more than to curl up in her bed and sleep for a week. Instead she forced her feet to move, hoping that Slade's distraction actually panned out.

* * *

><p><em>157 Hours and 55 Minutes Remaining<em>

* * *

><p>The Hive 5 were a regular nuisance for the Titans. Jinx and her ever fluctuating team of HIVE students enjoyed spending their free time causing chaos. Shopping centers were their favorite targets so this was nothing unusual. They weren't exactly difficult to take down either. Jinx was easily the most dangerous of the group. Her ability to emanate waves of bad luck from her hands made her difficult to take down but far from impossible, as Raven was currently proving. Mammoth's strength could be an issue but Beast Boy and his constant shifting into increasingly larger animals had the situation under control. Cyborg and Gizmo were in a high tech battle that probably would last longer than the rest. See-More and Starfire were exchanging fire and Robin himself was facing a guy who called himself Private HIVE. Despite Private's military background, he wasn't as good at hand to hand combat as Robin. Of course, Private HIVE had never needed to face the insane and deadly villains of Gotham.<p>

Within twenty minutes JCPD were taking the Hive 5 away while Beast Boy and Cyborg debated what they needed for a good day of relaxing at the local park. Starfire was tossing out ideas as well, some of which were obviously customs from her home planet, while Raven and Robin watched. That was when one of the officers approached them. John Coleman was someone who often enough was assigned to work with the Titans. He and Robin were on friendly terms and he treated the teens as competent equals, unlike some of the other cops who worked in the city, and they respected him for it.

"I know you were looking forward to some rest," the man said, "but we have a problem. The Jump City Geology Lab has reported that their newest project has been stolen and since no one has any memory of the time when the object went missing they suspect it might be a villain."

"We'll take a look officer," Robin promised and John Coleman nodded with a smile before helping his fellow officers hoist the Hive 5 into the back of the transport vehicle. "Come on Titans," Robin told the rest of his team. "We have work to do." Beast Boy groaned at that but none of them protested too loudly as they headed for the T-Car. The drive to the geology lap was mostly silent. Jump City was peaceful most weeks, especially now that Slade was gone, but sometimes they found themselves worn thin from lack of sleep. This was one of those days.

Head geologist Karen Kinswick greeted them at the main entrance. "Thank you for coming," she said with a tired smile. "Especially considering we don't have much information for you."

"It's our job," Robin told her with the encouraging smile he used on jumpy, worn thin witnesses. "Can you tell us what happened?"

"Myself and Dr. Aaron Morgan went into the lap just ten minutes ago," Kinswick told them. "Our colleague, Maggie Berkley, was supposed to be working on it already but she wasn't there and out intern, Emily Kane, said she hadn't seen her all day. Furthermore, the device was gone. No one remembers seeing anything out of the ordinary and all our cameras were taken out at the time of the crime."

"Can I see what footage you have?" Cyborg asked and Kinswick nodded, motioning for her partner, probably the aforementioned Dr. Aaron Morgan, to show Cyborg the security room. Robin motioned for Beast Boy to follow the cyberteen. Something about this situation worried him. It was starting to look as if the Hive 5 had been a distraction for the Titans and that bothered him. Slade had been in the habit of using other villains to hide the true purpose of his plans and the very thought tried to send a chill of fear down Robin's spine.

"Why don't you show us the scene of the crime?" he suggested and Kinswick nodded.

"Of course," the scientist said, leading Starfire, Robin, and Raven to an elevator. "We keep the project in the high security lap," Kinswick said as the elevator rose, the glass floor showing the ground beneath them shrinking. "The only way someone can get in is if they have an issued ID card."

"What about your colleague, Maggie Berkley?" Robin questioned. "Have you been able to get in contact with her?"

"Not yet," Kinswick said as the elevator doors slid open. "We've been calling but no one is answering." She slid her ID through a scanner and a lock clicked. She opened a door for them and the Titans stepped inside. The lab in question was pristine, as if nothing inside it had been touched. "No one has moved anything," Kinswick reassured them. "We didn't wish to tamper with the scene."

"Thank you ma'am," Robin told her. "My team and I would like to investigate without an audience if that is possible."

"Of course." Kinswick flushed a little and hurried out of the room, possibly leaving to attempt to call Maggie Berkley again.

Robin took a moment to asses the situation before turning to his teammates. "Raven, I need you to help me search for clues, anything our mystery thief might have left behind. Starfire, would you mind asking Ms. Kinswick where Maggie Berkley lives and checking out her home? We need to find out what happened to Ms. Berkley."

"Of course," Starfire said, already flying out of the room.

Together Raven and Robin began to canvas the room, searching for any sign of the intruder. Whoever had come into the lab had been careful not to touch anything they didn't need but no one was perfect. Surely the thief had left some sign behind. "Robin." Raven's voice called softly to him from across the room. "I think you should see this."

Robin was crossing the room when Starfire flew in, expression frantic. "Oh friends, friends," she cried, tears dripping down her cheeks. "It is terrible."

"Calm down Star," Robin said, rushing over to take her hand. "Just take deep breaths. Everything is going to be okay." Starfire nodded, shuddering a little and clutching his hand so tightly it hurt. "Now tell me, what's wrong?"

"The woman you sent me to find," Starfire said, voice wavering a little. "She is dead."


	8. Chapter Seven

Starfire had faced death before. Her people had been involved in a war against their enemies, the Gordanians since she was a child. Despite that, she had not grown use to the sight of blood and broken bodies. As a princess of Tamaran she had been kept away from the aftermath of the battles that had raged between her own people and their enemies and as a Titan she worked to prevent death. Maggie Berkley's death had been a senseless murder, leaving blood strewn across the small apartment. What upset Starfire the most were the pictures. Several photographs were scattered throughout the apartment. One was of Maggie with a couple of older people, probably her parents. Others showed Maggie with a man about her age and one, the one that upset the alien princess the most, showed Maggie with a little blonde haired girl on her hip. Somewhere out there Maggie had a sister or daughter or niece that would never see her again.

Raven had found Maggie's ID card back at the lab and now the three teens were searching the apartment for any sign of the killer while Maggie's body had been taken in to be examined. Robin seemed uneasy about the entire situation and Starfire couldn't help but share his worry. She had not been completely obsessed with Slade like the Boy Wonder but she recognized the misdirection they had just faced as one of his tactics. That combined with the metal S that had been left during Cinderblock's attempted escaped bothered her.

"Do you think perhaps Slade has somehow returned?" Starfire asked her friends. Robin's shoulders stiffened defensively at the suggestion and although Raven's posture did not change, her eyes darkened.

"It should be impossible for him to return from what Terra did to him," Robin said but his voice was uncertain.

"Slade fell into magma," Raven said, her voice firm. "Not even his bones would have survived that." Robin appeared reassured by Raven's statement and Starfire allowed herself to be calmed by the empath's statement as well. Raven was right, Slade could not possibly be back.

* * *

><p><em>157 Hours and 22 Minutes Remaining<em>

* * *

><p>Maeve was exhausted. Her limbs felt like lead and it had taken all her will power to change and stumble back to her home without attracting unwanted attention. The technology Slade had wanted was in her pocket. It was an innocent enough looking metallic disk but what it could do was truly amazing. She dragged herself up the stairs and pushed open the door, her tired mind not even registering that it had already been unlocked despite the fact that she had locked it before she left that morning.<p>

A steadying arm wrapped around her ribcage and guided her toward her bed. She didn't protest, her mind loosened from behind its protective walls and recognizing the presence next to her. "You have the item?" Slade's voice was cool and disinterested. Maeve groaned from where her face was buried in her pillow, the old fabric smelling a little musty, and squirmed around until she could retrieve the item in question from her pocket. She held it out blindly, unable to summon the energy to even raise her head. She felt the cool leather of Slade's glove as he gently slipped the item from her hand. "Get some rest," he told her. "You've done well." She drifted off to sleep almost before he'd finished speaking, her body completely worn out.

Slade settled in the sole chair in the bedroom, eyes on the girl. She had preformed well, better than he had hoped for when he'd first found her. The assassin had gone through two apprentices already and neither experience had ended well. Robin, leader of the Titans, had been simple enough to manipulate until the boy's friends had arrived. Then the Boy Wonder had managed to inject himself with the same nanobots Slade had used to threaten his friends with. Terra had been a decent second choice but she too had betrayed him, throwing him into magma that lurked beneath the surface of Jump City.

Maeve had been an accident. He'd stumbled upon the girl once he'd been returned to earth, far from Jump City but with Trigon's order to listen for the demon's call ringing in his ears. She'd turned out, thus far, to be surprisingly loyal, and she'd done everything he'd told her to without compliant. Now the newest device out of Jump City was his and the plan was moving ahead as it should. His gaze turned back to his new apprentice, considering her like a chess master considered where to move a piece. Granted, Maeve wasn't a pawn but even a piece as valuable as a knight could be sacrificed for the greater good of the game.

The girl stirred, mumbling something into her pillow. She was not in the habit of talking in her sleep so he could only conclude that she was waking. The sun was setting, the room darkening. "I can feel your eyes burning holes in the back of my skull." Maeve's voice was slurred from sleep but she had her head lifted up from her pillow and blue eyes focused blearily on him from behind a curtain of brown hair. He didn't respond but he doubted she expected him to. "You have the file for my next mission?" It wasn't quite a question but it wasn't a statement either. Instead it lurked in the in between world that teenagers these days seemed to enjoy living in. The same world where saying the same word more than once gave it a different meaning.

"There will be some kind of fallout from the last mission," he told her and she rolled over to stare at him.

"What do you mean fallout?"

"Miss Berkley's memories were only suppressed," he replied smoothly, knowing that he would have to guide her through the logic of the woman's death and that Maeve would likely still react poorly. "I could not risk having her suddenly remember what she saw. The Titans cannot know what we are up to this early in the game. Unfortunately for Miss Berkley, that led to her elimination."

"You killed her." Maeve's voice was dark and unhappy. "She had a family, a boyfriend, people to go back to."

"You are still seeing her as a person," Slade told her. "She was merely a pawn, and then a liability." He stood before she could protest and added, "The file is on the table." He left Maeve and her childish morals behind. He had a plan to continue.

In the growing shadows of her room, Maeve felt unexpected tears prickle at her eyes. She had expected casualties in this battle but she hadn't expected to be the cause of one. Maggie had been a nice young woman. Worse yet, Maeve had promised the woman that she would not be harmed. And Maggie had been killed anyway. A little sob ripped free of her throat, despite the fact that there was no one around to hear her cry. Maeve pressed her palms against her eyes, willing the tears away, before standing. She had a file to look at, a job to do. A pointless death was not going to stop her from repaying her debt.


End file.
